A fire early this morning left five families in Deschambault Lake homeless. (Image Credit: Facebook/Michelle Beatty)

By Susan McNeil

Multiples house fires in last six months

Five families left homeless after sixplex burns in Deschambault Lake

Jul 8, 2026 | 4:42 PM

Already facing a housing shortage, the community of Deschambault Lake is at even more of a loss after a six-plex was destroyed in an early morning fire Wednesday.

Councillor Justin Beatty said all of the families living in the building got out unharmed, but the band is now wondering where they will live.

“That’s five families that are now homeless. All of the families have children. Right now, they are staying with other family members, but the places they’re staying are extremely overcrowded now,” he said.

Beatty said four residential buildings have burned in the last six months in what some in the community believe are suspicious fires, leaving 10 homes destroyed.

“We just had a house fire last week. Another elderly lady with six grandchildren became homeless. At this point, it’s an emergency.”

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He and others have spoken to police about the number of fires, but Beatty said the RCMP need evidence they were caused by arson before they can investigate. For a community that does not have a fire hall, Beatty said that is a challenge.

“We need somebody that actually has evidence, video evidence or anything like that, because right now there are just rumours.”

Beatty said funding to build a local fire hall has been promised by Indigenous Services Canada but has not yet arrived.

When fires start, several water and sewer department staff are the ones who respond.

“We only have a couple of guys that are on standby for emergencies like this. And one guy, when they got the call, he jumped up right away and he was there,” Beatty said. “You know, it didn’t take him long to get there. He’s one guy we can count on when we need him. When we call him, he’s ready to go.”

Community leaders and various service agencies will meet over the next day or two to come up with a plan for the housing situation, but Beatty said it will be a challenge because the community is also facing a growing homelessness problem.

Meanwhile, he hopes the federal government will respond with help before any more losses occur.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Five families left homeless after sixplex burns in Deschambault Lake

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